The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 2 by Richard F. Burton

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The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (17 Volumes) - with Introduction Explanatory Notes...- A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments. Volumes 1-10; AND, Supplemental Nights ... Volumes 11-17

The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. Vol. II

Supplemental Nights: To the Book of the Thousand and One Nights with Notes Anthropological and Explanatory, Volume Two

The Book of The Thousand Nights and a Night Vol. I & II

The Book of the Thousand nights and a Night: Vols. I & II

The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night : A plain and literal translation of The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Volume Two (2)

Zaman continued, "It is related that Omar passed by a flock ofsheep, kept by a Mameluke, and asked him to sell him a sheep. Heanswered, 'They are not mine.' 'Thou art the man I sought,' saidOmar, and bought him and freed him; whereupon the slaveexclaimed, 'O Allah, as thou hast bestowed on me the lesseremancipation; so vouchsafe me the greater!'[FN#279] It is alsosaid that Omar bin al- Khattab was wont to give his servantssweet milk and himself eat coarse fare, and to clothe them softlyand himself wear rough garments. He rendered unto all men theirdue, and exceeded in his giving to them. He once gave a man fourthousand dirhams and added thereto a thousand, wherefore it wassaid to him, 'Why dost thou not increase to thy son as thouincreasest to this man?' He answered, 'This man's father stoodfirm at the battle day of Ohod.'[FN#280] Al-Hasan relates thatOmar once came back from foray with much money, and thatHafsah[FN#281] approached him and said, 'O Commander of theFaithful, the due of kinship!' 'O Hafsah!' replied he, 'verilyAllah hath enjoined us to satisfy the dues of kinship, but notwith the monies of the True Believers. Indeed, thou pleasest"thy family, but thou angerest thy father.' And she went awaytrailing her skirts.[FN#282] The son of Omar said, 'I imploredthe Lord to show me my father one year after his death, till atlast I saw him wiping the sweat from his brow and asked him, 'Howis it with thee, O my father?' He answered, 'But for my Lord'smercy thy father surely had perished.' Then said Nuzhat al-Zaman,"Hear, O auspicious King, the second division of the firstchapter of the instances of the followers of the Apostle andother holy men. Saith Al Hasan al-Basri,[FN#283] Not a soul ofthe sons of Adam goeth forth of the world without regrettingthree things,- failure to enjoy what he hath amassed, failure tocompass what he hoped, failure to provide himself with sufficientviaticum for that hereto he goeth.[FN#284] It was said ofSufyan,[FN#285] 'Can a man be a religious and yet possesswealth?' He replied, 'Yes, so he be patient when grieved and bethankful when he hath received.' Abdullah bin Shaddad, beingabout to die, sent for his son Mohammed and admonished him,saying, 'O my son, I see the Summoner of Death summoning me, andso I charge thee to fear Allah both in public and private, topraise Allah and to be soothfastin thy speech, for such praisebringeth increase of prosperity, and piety in itself is the bestof provision for the next world; even as saith one of the poets,

'I see not happiness lies in gathering gold; * The man most pious is man happiest:In truth the fear of God is best of stores, * And God shall make the pious choicely blest.'

Then quoth Nuzhat al-Zaman, "Let the King also give ear to thesenotes from the second section of the first chapter." He asked her'What be they?'; and she answered, "When Omar bin Abd al-Aziz[FN#286] succeeded to the Caliphate, he went to his household andlaying hands on all that was in their hold, put it into thepublic treasury. So the Banu Umayyah flew for aid to hisfather's sister, Fatimah, daughter of Marwan, and she sent to himsaying, 'I must needs speak to thee.' So she came to him by nightand, when he had made her alight from her beast and sit down, hesaid to her, 'O aunt, it is for thee to speak first, since thouhast some thing to ask: tell me then what thou wouldst with me.'Replied she, 'O Commander of the Faithful, it is thine to speakfirst, for thy judgment perceiveth that which is hidden from theintelligence of others.' Then said Omar, 'Of a verity AllahAlmighty sent Mohammed as a blessing to some and a bane toothers; and He elected for him those with him, and commissionedhim as His Apostle and took him to Himself,'--And Shahrazadperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Sixty-fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman continued thus, "Said Omar, 'Verily Allah commissioned asHis Apostle Mohammed (upon whom be the benediction of Allah andHis salvation!), for a blessing to some and a bane to others; andHe elected for him those with him and took him to Himself,leaving the people a stream whereof they might drink. After himAbu Bakr[FN#287] the Truth teller became Caliph and he left theriver as it was, doing what was pleasing to Allah. Then aroseOmar and worked a work and strove in holy war and strife where ofnone might do the like. But when Othman arose to power hediverted a streamlet from the stream, and Mu'awiyah in his turndiverted from it several streamlets; and without ceasing in likemanner, Yezid and the Banu Marwan such as Abd al-Malik and Walidand Sulayman[FN#288] drew away water from the stream, and themain course dried up, till rule devolved upon me, and now I amminded to restore the stream to its normal condition.' WhenFatimah heard this, she said, 'I came wishing only to speak andconfer with thee, but if this be thy word, I have nothing to sayto thee.' Then she returned to the Ommiades and said to them,'Now take ye the consequences of your act when ye alliedyourselves by marriage with Omar bin al-Khattab.'[FN#289] And itis also said that when Omar was about to die, he gathered hischildren round him, and Maslamah[FN#290] bin Abd al-Malik said tohim, 'O Prince of the Faithful, how wilt thou leave thy childrenpaupers and thou their protector? None can hinder thee in thylifetime from giving them what will suffice them out of thetreasury; and this indeed were better than leaving the good workto him who shall rule after thee.' Omar looked at him with a lookof wrath and wonder and presently replied, 'O Maslamah, I havedefended them from this sin all the days of my life, and shall Imake them miserable after my death? Of a truth my sons are likeother men, either obedient to Almighty Allah who will prosperthem, or disobedient and I will not help them in theirdisobedience. Know, O Maslamah, that I was present, even asthou, when such an one of the sons of Marwanwas buried, and Ifell asleep by him and saw him in a dream given over to one ofthe punishments of Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory! Thisterrified me and made me tremble, and I vowed to Allah, that ifever I came to power, I would not do such deeds as the dead manhad done. I have striven to fulfil this vow all the length of mylife and I hope to die in the mercy of my Lord.' Quoth Maslamah,'A certain man died and I was present at his burial, and when allwas over I fell asleep and I saw him as a sleeper seeth a dream,walking in a garden of flowing waters clad in white clothes. Hecame up to me and said: 'O Maslamah, it is for the like of thisthat rulers should rule.' Many are the instances of this kind,and quoth one of the men of authority, 'I used to milk the ewesin the Caliphate of Omar bin Abd al-Aziz, and one day I met ashepherd, among whose sheep I saw a wolf or wolves. I thoughtthem to be dogs, for I had never before seen wolves; so I asked,'What dost thou with these dogs?' 'They are not dogs, butwolves,' answered the shepherd. Quoth I, 'Can wolves be withsheep and not hurt them?' Quoth he, 'When the head is whole, thebody is whole.'[FN#291] Omar bin Abd al-Aziz once preached from apulpit of clay and, after praising and glorifying Allah Almighty,said three words as follows, 'O folk, make clean your inmosthearts, that your outward lives may be dean to your brethren, andabstain ye from the things of the world. Know that between usand Adam there is no one man alive among the dead. Dead are Abdal- Malik and those who forewent him, and Omar also shall die andthose who forewent him.' Asked Maslamah, 'O Commander of theFaithful, an we set a pillow behind thee, wilt thou lean on it alittle while?' But Omar answered, 'I fear lest it be a faultabout my neck on Resurrection Day.' Then he gasped with the deathrattle and fell back in a faint; whereupon Fatimah cried out,saying, 'Ho, Maryam! Ho, Muzahim![FN#292] Ho, such an one! Lookto this man!' And she began to pour water on him weeping, till herevived from his swoon; and, seeing her in tears said to her,'What causeth thee to weep, O Fatimah?' She replied, 'O Commanderof the Faithful, I saw thee lying prostrate before us and thoughtof thy prostration in death before Almighty Allah, of thydeparture from the world and of thy separation from us. This iswhat made me weep.' Answered he, 'Enough, O Fatimah, for indeedthou exceedest.' Then he would have risen, but fell down andFatimah strained him to her and said, 'Thou art to me as myfather and my mother, O Commander of the Faithful! We cannotspeak to thee, all of us.' Then quoth Nuzhat al-Zaman to herbrother Sharrkan and the four Kazis, "Here endeth the secondsection of the first chapter."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawnof day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Sixty-sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman said to her brother Sharrkan and the four Kazis, "Hereendeth the second section of the first chapter. And it sohappened that Omar bin Abd al-Aziz wrote to the people of thefestival at Meccah as follows, 'I call Allah to witness, in theHoly Month, in the Holy City and on the day of the GreaterPilgrimage,[FN#293] that I am innocent of your oppression and ofhis wrongs that doth wrong you, in that I have neither commandedthis nor purposed it, neither hath any report of aught thereofhitherto reached me, nor have I compassed any knowledge thereof;and I trust that a cause for pardon will be found in that nonehath authority from me to oppress any man, for I shall assuredlybe questioned concerning every one oppress. And if any of myofficers swerve from the right and act otherwise than the HolyBook and the Traditions of the Apostle do authorise, obey him notso that he may return to the way of righteousness.' He said also(Allah accept of him!), 'I do not wish to be relieved from death,because it is the supreme thing for which the True Believer isrewarded.' Quoth one of authority, 'I went to the Prince of theFaithful, Omarbin Abd al-Aziz, who was then Caliph, and sawbefore him twelve dirhams, which he ordered for deposit in thepublic treasury. So I said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful,thou impoverishest thy children and reducest them to beggaryhaving nothing whereon to live. An thou wouldst appoint somewhatby will to them and to those who are poor of the people of thyhouse, it were well.' 'Draw near to me,' answered he: so I drewnear to him and he said, 'Now as for thy saying, 'Thou beggarestthy children; provide for them and for the poor of thyhousehold,' it is without reason; for Allah of a truth willreplace me to my children and to the poor of my house, and Hewill be their guardian. Verily, they are like other men; he whofeareth Allah, right soon will Allah provide for him a happyissue, and he that is addicted to sins, I will not up hold him inhis sin against Allah.' Then he summoned his sons who numberedtwelve, and when he beheld them his eyes dropped tears andpresently he said to them, 'Your Father is between two things;either ye will be well to do, and your parent will enter thefire, or ye will be poor and your parent will enter Paradise; andyour father's entry into Paradise is liefer to him than that yeshould be well to do.[FN#294] So arise and go, Allah be yourhelper, for to Him I commit your affairs!' Khalid binSafwan[FN#295] said, 'Yusuf bin Omar[FN#296] accompanied me toHisham bin Abd al-Malik,[FN#297] and as I met him he was comingforth with his kinsmen and attendants. He alighted and a tentwas pitched for him. When the people had taken their seats, Icame up to the side of the carpet whereon he sat reclining andlooked at him; and, waiting till my eyes met his eyes, bespokehim thus, 'May Allah fulfil His bounty to thee, O Commander ofthe Faithful, I have an admonition for thee, which hath come downto us from the history of the Kings preceding thee!' At this, hesat up whenas he had been reclining and said to me, 'Bring whatthou hast, O son of Safwan!' Quoth I, 'O Commander of theFaithful, one of the Kings before thee went forth in a timebefore this thy time, to this very country and said to hiscompanions, 'Saw ye ever any state like mine and say me, hathsuch case been given to any man even as it hath been given untome?' Now there was with him a man of those who survive to beartestimony to Truth; upholders of the Right and wayfarers in itshighway, and he said to him, 'O King, thou askest of a gravematter. Wilt thou give me leave to answer?' 'Yes,' replied theKing, and the other said, 'Dost thou judge thy present state tobe short lasting or ever lasting?' 'It is temporary,' replied theKing. 'How then,' rejoined the man, 'do I see thee exulting inthat which thou wilt enjoy but a little while and whereof thouwilt be questioned for a long while and for the rendering anaccount whereof thou shalt be as a pledge which is pawned?' Quoththe King, 'Whither shall I flee and what must I seek for me?''That thou abide in thy kingship,' replied the other, 'or elserobe thee in rags[FN#298] and apply thyself to obey AlmightyAllah thy Lord until thine appointed hour. I will come to theeagain at daybreak.' Khalid bin Safwan further relates that theman knocked at the door at dawn and behold, the King had put offhis crown and resolved to become an anchorite, for the stress ofhis exhortation. When Hisham bin Abd al-Malik heard this, hewept till his beard was wet, and, bidding his rich apparel be putoff, shut himself up in his palace. Then the grandees anddependents came to Khalid and said, 'What is this thou hast donewith the Commander of the Faithful? Thou hast troubled hispleasure and disturbed his life!' Then quoth Nuzhat al-Zaman,addressing herself to Sharrkan, "How many instances of admonitionare there not in this chapter! Of a truth I cannot report allappertaining to this head in a single sitting,"--And Shahrazadperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Sixty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman continued, speaking to Sharrkan, "Know, O King, that inthis chapter be so many instances of admonition that of a truth Icannot report all appertaining to this head in a single sittingbut, with length of days, O King of the age, all will be well."There said the Kazis, "O King, of a truth this damsel is thewonder of the world, and of our age the unique pearl! Neverheard we her like in the length of time or in the length of ourlives." And they called down blessings on the King and went away. Then Sharrkan turned to his attendants and said, "Begin ye toprepare the marriage festival and make ready food of all kinds."So they forthright did his bidding as regards the viands, and hecommanded the wives of the Emirs and Wazirs and Grandees departnot until the time of the wedding banquet and of the unveiling ofthe bride. Hardly came the period of afternoon prayer when thetables were spread with whatso heart can desire or eye candelight in of roast meats and geese and fowls; and the subjectsate till they were satisfied. Moreover, Sharrkan had sent forall the singing women of Damascus and they were present, togetherwith every slave girl of the King and of the notables who knewhow to sing. And they went up to the palace in one body. Whenthe evening came and darkness starkened they lighted candles,right and left, from the gate of the citadel to that of thepalace; and the Emirs and Wazirs and Grandees marched past beforeKing Sharrkan, whilst the singers and the tire women took thedamsel to dress and adorn her, but found she needed no adornment. Meantime King Sharrkan went to the Hammam and coming out, satdown on his seat of estate, whilst they paraded the bride beforehim in seven different dresses: after which they eased her of theweight of her raiment and ornaments and gave such injunctions asare enjoined upon virgins on their wedding nights. Then Sharrkanwent in unto her and took her maidenhead;[FN#299] and she at onceconceived by him and, when she announced it, he rejoiced withexceeding joy and commanded the savants to record the date of herconception. On the morrow he went forth and seated himself onhis throne, and the high officers came in to him and gave himjoy. Then he called his private secretary and bade him write aletter to his father, King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, saying that hehad bought him a damsel, who excels in learning and good breedingand who is mistress of all kinds of knowledge. Moreover hewrote, "There is no help but that I send her to Baghdad to visitmy brother Zau al-Makan and my sister Nuzhat al-Zaman. I haveset her free and married her and she hath conceived by me." Andhe went on to praise her wit and salute his brother and sistertogether with the Wazir Dandan and all the Emirs. Then he sealedthe letter and despatched it to his father by a post courier whowas absent a whole month, after which time he returned with theanswer and presented it in the presence. Sharrkan took it andread as follows, "After the usual Bismillah, this is from theafflicted distracted man, from him who hath lost his children andhome by bane and ban, King Omar bin al- Nu'uman, to his sonSharrkan. Know that, since thy departure from me, the place isbecome contracted upon me, so that no longer I have power ofpatience nor can I keep my secret: and the cause thereof is asfollows. It chanced that when I went forth to hunt and courseZau al-Makan sought my leave to fare Hijaz wards, but I, fearingfor him the shifts of fortune, forbade him therefrom until thenext year or the year after. My absence while sporting andhunting endured for a whole month"--And Shahrazad perceived thedawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Sixty-eighth night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Omarbin al-Nu'uman wrote in his letter, "My absence while sportingand hunting endured for a whole month, and when I returned Ifound that thy brother and sister had taken somewhat of money andhad set out with the pilgrim caravan for pilgrimage by stealth. When I knew this, the wide world narrowed on me, O my son! but Iawaited the return of the caravan, hoping that haply they wouldcome back with it. Accordingly, when the palmers appeared Iasked concerning the twain, but they could give me no news ofthem; so I donned mourning for them, being heavy at heart, and insleep I have no part and I am drowned in the tears of my eyes."Then he wrote in verse,

"That pair in image quits me not one single hour, * Whom in my heart's most honourable place I keep:Sans hope of their return I would not live one hour, * Without my dreams of them I ne'er would stretch me in sleep."

The letter went on, "And after the usual salutations to thee andthine, I command thee neglect no manner of seeking news of themfor indeed this is a shame to us." When Sharrkan read the letterhe felt grief for his father and joy for the loss of his brotherand sister. Then he took the missive and went in with it toNuzhat al-Zaman who knew not that he was her brother, nor he thatshe was his sister, albeit he often visited her both by night andby day till the months were accomplished and she sat down on thestool of delivery. Allah made the child birth easy to her andshe bare a daughter, whereupon she sent for Sharrkan and seeinghim she said to him, "This is thy daughter: name her as thouwilt." Quoth he, "It is usual to name children on the seventh dayafter birth.[FN#300]" Then he bent over the child to kiss it andhe saw, hung about its neck, a jewel, which he knew at once forone of those which Princess Abrizah had brought from the land ofthe Greeks. Now when he saw the jewel hanging from his babe'sneck he recognised it right well, his senses fled and wrathseized on him; his eyes rolled in rage and he looked at Nuzhatal- Zaman and said to her, "Whence hadst thou this jewel, O slavegirl?" When she heard this from Sharrkan she replied, "I am thylady, and the lady of all in thy palace! Art thou not ashamed tosay to me Slave girl? I am a Queen, daughter of King Omar binal-Nu'uman." Hearing this, he was seized with trembling and hunghis head earthwards,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day andceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Sixty-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that whenSharrkan heard these words, his heart fluttered and his colourwaxed yellow and he was seized with trembling and he hung hishead earthwards, for he knew that she was his sister by the samefather. Then he lost his senses; and, when he revived, he abodein amazement, but did not discover his identity to her and asked,O my lady, say, art thou in sooth the daughter of King Omar binal- Nu'uman?" "Yes," answered she; and he continued, "Tell me thecause of thy leaving thy sire and of thy being sold for a slave."So she related to him all that had befallen her from beginning toend, how she had left her brother sick in the Sanctified City,Jerusalem, and how the Badawi had kidnapped her and had sold herto the trader. When Sharrkan heard this, he was certified of herbeing his sister on the sword side and said to himself, "How canI have my sister to wife? By Allah, needs must I marry her toone of my chamberlains; and, if the thing get wind, I willdeclare that I divorced her before consummation and married herto my Chief Chamberlain." Then he raised his head and sighingsaid, "O Nuzhat al-Zaman, thou art my very sister and I cry: 'Itake refuge with Allah from this sin whereinto we have fallen,'for I am Sharrkan, son of Omar bin al-Nu'uman." She looked at himand knew he spoke the truth; and, becoming as one demented, shewept and buffeted her face, exclaiming, "There is no Majesty andthere is no Might save in Allah! Verily have we fallen intomortal sin![FN#301] What shall I do and what shall I say to myfather and my mother when they ask me, Whence hadst thou thydaughter?" Quoth Sharrkan, "It were meetest that I marry thee tomy Chamberlain and let thee bring up my daughter in his house,that none may know thou be my sister. This hath befallen us fromAlmighty Allah for a purpose of his own, and nothing shall coverus but thy marriage with this Chamberlain, ere any know." Then hefell to comforting her and kissing her head and she asked him,"What wilt thou call the girl?" "Call her Kuzia Fakan,"[FN#302]answered he. Then he gave the mother in marriage to the ChiefChamberlain, and transferred her to his house with the child,which they reared on the laps of the slave girls, and fed withmilk and dosed with powders. Now all this occurred whilst thebrother, Zau al-Makan, still tarried with the Fireman atDamascus. One day there came to King Sharrkan a courier from hisfather, with a letter which he took and read and found therein,"After the Bismillah know, O beloved King, that I am afflictedwith sore affliction for the loss of my children: sleep everfaileth me and wakefulness ever assaileth me. I send thee thisletter that, as soon as thou receivest it, thou make ready themonies and the tribute, and send them to us, together with thedamsel whom thou hast bought and taken to wife; for I long to seeher and hear her discourse; more especially because there hathcome to us from Roumland an old woman of saintly bearing and withher be five damsels high bosomed virgins, endowed with knowledgeand good breeding and all arts and sciences befitting mortals toknow; and indeed tongue faileth me to describe this old woman andthese who with her wend; for of a truth they are compendiums ofperfections in learning and accomplishments. As soon as I sawthem I loved them, and I wished to have them in my palace and inthe compass of my hand; for none of the Kings owneth the like ofthem; so I asked the old woman their price and she answered, 'Iwill not sell them but for the tribute of Damascus.' And I, byAllah, did not hold this price exorbitant, indeed it is butlittle, for each one of them is worth the whole valuation. So Iagreed to that and took them into my palace, and they remain inmy possession. Wherefore do thou forward the tribute to us thatthe woman may return to her own country; and send to us thedamsel to the end that she may dispute with them before thedoctors; and, if she prevail over them, I will return her to theeaccompanied by the tribute of Baghdad."--And Shahrazad perceivedthe dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Seventieth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Omarson of Al-Nu'uman said in his letter, "And send to us the damselto the end that she may dispute with them before the doctors and,if she prevail over them, I will return her to thee accompaniedwith the tribute of Baghdad." As soon as Sharrkan knew thecontents, he went in to his brother in law and said to him,"Bring the damsel to whom I married thee;" and when she came heshowed her the letter and said, "O my sister! what answerwouldst thou advise me make to this letter?" Replied she, "Seekadvice from thyself!" and presently added (for she yearned afterher people and her native land), "Send me together with myhusband the Chamberlain, to Baghdad, that I may tell my father mytale and let him know whatso befel me with the Badawi who sold meto the merchant, and that I also inform him how thou boughtest meof the trader and gavest me in marriage to the Chamberlain, aftersetting me free." "Be it so," replied Sharrkan. Then Sharrkantook his daughter, Kuzia Fakan, and committed her to the chargeof the wet nurses and the eunuchs, and he made ready the tributein haste, bidding the Chamberlain travel with the Princess andthe treasure to Baghdad. He also furnished him two travellinglitters one for himself and the other for his wife. And theChamberlain replied, "To hear is to obey." Moreover Sharrkancollected camels and mules and wrote a letter to his father andcommitted it to the Chamberlain; then he bade farewell to hissister, after he had taken the jewel from her and hung it roundhis daughter's neck by a chain of pure gold; and she and herhusband set out for Baghdad the same night. Now it so happenedthat Zau al-Makan and his friend the Fireman had come forth fromthe hut in which they were, to see the spectacle, and they beheldcamels and Bukhti[FN#303] dromedaries and bat-mules and torchesand lanterns alight; and Zau al-Makan enquired about the loadsand their owner and was told that it was the tribute of Damascusgoing to King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, Lord of the City of Baghdad. He then asked, "Who be the leader of the caravan?" and theyanswered, "The Head Chamberlain who hath married the damsel sofamous for learning and science." Thereupon Zau al-Makan weptwith bitter weeping and was minded of his mother and his fatherand his sister and his native land, and he said to the Stoker, "Iwill join this caravan and, little by little, will journeyhomewards." Quoth the Fireman, "I would not suffer thee to travelsingle handed from the Holy City to Damascus, then how shall I besure of thy safety when thou farest for Baghdad? But I will gowith thee and care for thee till thou effectest thine object.""With joy and good will," answered Zau al-Makan. Then theFireman get him ready for the journey and hired an ass and threwsaddle bags over it and put therein something of provaunt; and,when all was prepared, he awaited the passage of the caravan. And presently the Chamberlain came by on a dromedary and hisfootmen about him. Then Zau al-Ma ken mounted the ass and saidto his companion, "Do thou mount with me." But he replied, "Notso: I will be thy servant." Quoth Zau al-Makan, "There is no helpfor it but thou ride awhile." "'Tis well," quoth the Stoker; "Iwill ride when I grow tired." Then said Zau al-Makan, "O mybrother, soon shalt thou see how I will deal with thee, when Icome to my own folk." So they fared on till the sun rose and,Whenit was the hour of the noonday sleep[FN#304] the Chamberlaincalled a halt and they alighted and reposed and watered theircamels. Then he gave the signal for departure and, after fivedays, they came to the city of Hamah,[FN#305] where they set downand made a three days' halt;--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn ofday and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they haltedin the city of Hamah three days; they then fared forwards andceased not travelling till they reached another city. Here alsothey halted three days and thence they travelled till theyentered the province Diyar Bakr. Here blew on them the breezesof Baghdad, and Zau al-Makan bethought him of his father andmother and native land, and how he was returning to his sirewithout his sister: so he wept and sighed and complained, and hisregrets grew on him, and he began improvising these couplets,

"Sweetheart! How long must I await by so long suffering teed? * Nor cometh messenger to tell me where thou dost abide:Ah me! in very sooth our meeting time was short enow: * Would Heaven shorter prove to me the present parting-tide!Now trend my hand and open my robe and thou within shall sight * How wasted are the limbs of me and yet the waste I hide:When say they 'Comfort take for loss of love' I but reply * 'By Allah, till the Day of Doom no comfort shall betide!' "

Thereupon said to him the Fireman, "Leave this weeping andwailing, for we are near the Chamberlain's tent." Quoth Zau al-Makan, "Needs must I recite somewhat of verse; haply it mayquench the fire of my heart." "Allah upon thee," cried the other,"cease this lamentation till thou come to shine own country; thendo what thou wilt, and I will be with thee wherever thou art."Replied Zau al-Makan, "By Allah! I cannot forbear from this!"Then he turned his face towards Baghdad and the moon was shiningbrightly and shedding her light on the place, and Nuzhat al-Zamancould not sleep that night, but was restless and called to mindher brother and wept. And while she was in tears, he heard Zaual-Makan weeping and improvising the following distichs,

'Al-Yaman's[FN#306] leven-gleam I see, * And sore despair despaireth meFor friend who erst abode wi' me * Crowning my cup with gladdest gree:It minds me o' one who jilted me * To mourn my bitter liberty.Say sooth, thou fair sheet lightning! shall * We meet once more in joy and glee?O blamer! spare to me thy blame * My Lord hath sent this dule to dree,Of friend who left me, fain to flee; * Of Time that breeds calamity:All bliss hath fled the heart of me * Since Fortune proved mine enemy.He[FN#307] brimmed a bowl of merest pine, * And made me drain the dregs, did he:I see me, sweetheart, dead and gone * Ere I again shall gaze on thee.Time! prithee bring our childhood back, * Restore our happy infancy,When joy and safety 'joyed we * From shafts that now they shoot at me!Who aids the hapless stranger wight, * That nights in fright and misery,That wastes his days in lonely grief, * For 'Time's Delight'[FN#308] no more must be?Doomed us despite our will to bear * The hands of base bores cark and care."

When he ended his verse he cried out and fell down in a faintingfit. This is how it fared with him; but as regards Nuzhat al-Zaman, when she heard that voice in the night, her heart was atrest and she rose and in her joy she called the Chief Eunuch, whosaid to her, "What is thy will?" Quoth she, "Arise and bring mehim who recited verses but now." Replied he, "Of a truth I didnot hear him"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceasedto say her permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when NuzhatAl-Zaman heard her brother reciting, she called the Chief Eunuchand said to him, "Go, fetch me the man who is repeating thispoetry!" Replied he, "Of a truth I heard him not and I wot himnot and folks are all sleeping." But she said, "Whomsoever thouseest awake, he is the reciter." So he went, yet found none onwake save the Stoker; for Zau al-Makan was still insensible, andwhen his companion saw the Eunuch standing by his head he wasafraid of him. Then said the Eunuch, "Art thou he who repeatedpoetry but now and my lady heard him?" The Stoker fancied thatthe dame was wroth with the reciter; and, being afraid, hereplied, "By Allah, 'twas not I!" Rejoined the Eunuch, "Who thenwas the reciter?: point him out to me. Thou must know who itwas, seeing that thou art awake." The Fireman feared for Zau al-Makan and said in himself, "Haply the Eunuch will do him somehurt"; so he answered, "By Allah, I know not who it was." Saidthe Eunuch, "By Allah, thou liest, for there is none on wake herebut thou! So needs must thou know him." "By Allah," replied theFireman, "I tell thee the truth!: some passer by, some wayfarermust have recited the verses and disturbed me and kept me awake;Allah requite him!" Quoth the Eunuch, "If thou happen upon him,point him out to me and I will lay hands on him and bring him tothe door of our lady's litter[FN#309] or do thou take him withthine own hand." Said the Fireman, "Go thou back and I will bringhim to thee." So the Eunuch left him and went his ways; and,going in to his mistress, told her all this and said to her,"None knoweth who it was; it must have been some passer by, somewayfarer." And she was silent. Meanwhile, Zau al-Makan came tohimself and saw that the moon had reached the middle Heavens; thebreath of the dawn breeze[FN#310] breathed upon him and his heartwas moved to longing and sadness; so he cleared his throat andwas about to recite verses, when the Fire man asked him, "Whatwilt thou do?" Answered Zau al-Makan, "I have a mind to repeatsomewhat of poetry, that I may quench therewith the fire of myheart." Quoth the other, "Thou knowest not what befel me whilstthou wast a faint, and how I escaped death only by beguiling theEunuch." "Tell me what happened," quoth Zau al-Makan. Repliedthe Stoker, "Whilst thou wast aswoon there came up to me but nowan Eunuch, with a long staff of almond tree wood in his hand, whotook to looking in all the people's faces, as they lay asleep,and asked me who it was recited the verses, finding none awakebut myself. I told him in reply it was some passerby, somewayfarer; so he went away and Allah delivered me from him; elsehad he killed me. But first he said to me, 'If thou hear himagain, bring him to us.'" When Zau al-Makan heard this he weptand said, "Who is it would forbid me to recite? I will surelyrecite, befal me what may; for I am near mine own land and carefor none." Rejoined the Fireman, "Thy design is naught save tolose thy life;" and Zau al-Makan retorted, "Needs must I reciteverses." "Verily," said the Stoker, "needs must there be aparting between me and thee in this place, albeit;I had intendednot to leave thee, till I had brought thee to thy native city andreunited thee with thy mother and father. Thou hast now tarriedwith me a year and a half and I have never harmed thee in aught. What ails thee, then, that thou must needs recite verses, seeingthat we are tired out with walking and watching and all the folkare asleep, for they require sleep to rest them of theirfatigue?" But Zau al-Makan answered, "I will not be turned awayfrom my purpose."[FN#311] Then grief moved him and he threw offconcealment and began repeating these couplets,

"Stand thou by the homes and hail the lords of the ruined stead; * Cry thou for an answer, belike reply to thee shall be sped:If the night and absence irk thy spirit kindle a torch * Wi' repine; and illuminate the gloom with a gleaming greed:If the snake of the sand dunes hiss, I shall marvel not at all! * Let him bite so I bite those beauteous lips of the luscious red:O Eden, my soul hath fled in despite of the maid I love: * Had I lost hope of Heaven my heart in despair were dead."

And he also improvised the two following distichs,

"We were and were the days enthralled to all our wills, * Dwelling in union sweet and homed in fairest site:Who shall restore the home of the beloved, where showed * Light of the Place for aye conjoined with Time's Delight?''[FN#312]

And as he ceased his verses, he shrieked three shrieks and fellsenseless to the ground and the Fireman rose and covered him. When Nuzhat al-Zaman heard the first improvisation, she called tomind her father and her mother and her brother and their whilomehome; then she wept and cried at the Eunuch and said to him, "Woeto thee! He who recited the first time hath recited a secondtime and I heard him hard by. By Allah, an thou fetch him not tome, I will assuredly rouse the Chamberlain on thee, and he shallbeat thee and cast thee out. But take these hundred diners andgive them to the singer and bring him to me gently, and do him nohurt. If he refuse, hand to him this purse of a thousand diners,then leave him and return to me and tell me, after thou hastinformed thyself of his place and his calling and what countrymanhe is. Return quickly and linger not."--And Shahrazad perceivedthe dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman sent the Eunuch to make enquiries concerning the singer andsaid, "Beware how thou come back to me and report, I could notfind him." So the Eunuch went out and laid about the people andtrod in their tents, but found none awake, all being asleep forweariness, till he came to the Stoker and saw him sitting up,with his head uncovered. So he drew near and seizing him by thehand, said to him, "It was thou didst recite the verses!" TheFireman was afeard for his life and replied, "No, by Allah, Ochief of the people, it was not I!" But the Eunuch said, "I willnot leave thee till thou show me who it was that recited theverses, for I dread returning to my lady without him." Now whenthe Fireman heard these words he feared for Zau al-Makan and weptwith exceeding weeping and said to the Eunuch, "By Allah, it wasnot I, and I know him not. I only heard some passer by, somewayfarer, recite verses: so do not thou commit sin on me, for Iam a stranger and come from the Holy City of Jerusalem; andAbraham, the friend of Allah, be with you all." "Rise up and farewith me," rejoined the Eunuch, "and tell my lady this with thineown mouth, for I have seen none awake save thyself." Quoth theStoker, "Hast thou not come and seen me sitting in the placewhere I now am, and dost thou not know my station? Thou wottestnone can stir from his place, except the watchman seize him. Sogo thou to thy station and if thou again meet any one after thishour reciting aught of poetry, whether he be near or far, it willbe I or some one I know, and thou shalt not learn of him but byme." Then he kissed the Eunuch's head and spake him fair till hewent away; but the Castrato fetched a round and, returningsecretly, came and stood behind the Fireman, fearing to go backto his mistress without tidings. As soon as he was gone, theStoker arose and aroused Zau al-Makan and said to him, "Come, situp, that I may tell thee what hath happened." So Zau al-Makan satup, and his companion told him what had passed, and he answered,"Let me alone; I will take no heed of this and I care for none,for I am mine own country."[FN#313] Quoth the Stoker, "Why wiltthou obey thy flesh and the devil? If thou fear no one, I fearfor thee and for my life, so Allah upon thee! recite nothingmore of verses till thou come to thine own land. Indeed, I hadnot deemed thee so ill conditioned. Dost thou not know that thislady is the wife; of the Chamberlain and is minded to chastisethee for disturbing her? Belike, she is ill or restless forfatigue of the journey and the distance of the place from herhome, and this is the second time she hath sent the Eunuch tolook for thee." However Zau al-Makan paid no heed to theFireman's words but cried out a third time and began versifyingwith these couplets,

"I fly the carper's injury,* Whose carping sorely vexeth me:He chides and taunts me, wotting not * He burns me but more grievously.The blamer cries 'He is consoled!' * I say, 'My own dear land[FN#314] to see:'They ask, 'Why be that land so dear?' * I say, 'It taught me in love to be:'They ask, 'What raised its dignity?' * I say, 'What made my ignomy:'Whate'er the bitter cup I drain, * Far be fro' me that land to flee:Nor will I bow to those who blame, * And for such love would deal me shame.

Hardly had he made an end of his verses and come to a conclusion,when the Eunuch (who had heard him from his hiding place at hishead) came up to him; whereupon the Fireman flea end stood afaroff to see what passed between them. Then said the Eunuch to Zaual-Makan, "Peace be with thee, O my lord!" "And on thee bepeace," replied Zau al-Makan, "and the mercy of Allah and Hisblessings!" "O my lord," continued the Eunuch---And Shahrazadperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say,

When it was the Seventy-fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Eunuchsaid to Zau al-Makan, "O my lord, I have sought thee theseseveral times this night, for my mistress biddeth thee to her."Quoth Zau al- Makan, "And who be this bitch that seeketh for me? Allah curse her and curse her husband with her!"[FN#315] And hebegan to revile the Eunuch, who could make him no answer, becausehis mistress had charged him to do Zau al-Makan no hurt, norbring him save of his own especial free will; and, if he wouldnot accompany him, to give him the thousand diners. So theCastrato began to speak him fair and say to him, "O my lord, takethis purse and go with me. We will do thee no upright, O my son,nor wrong thee in aught; but our object is that thou bend thygracious steps with me to my mistress, to receive her answer andreturn in weal and safety: and thou shalt have a handsome presentas one who bringeth good news." When Zau al- Makan heard this, hearose and went with the Eunuch and walked among the sleepingfolk, stepping over them; whilst the Fireman followed after themfrom afar, and kept his eye upon him and said to himself, "Alasthe pity of his youth! Tomorrow they will hang him." And heceased not following them till he approached theirstation,[FN#316] without any observing him. Then he stood stilland said, "How base it will be of him, if he say it was I whobade him recite the verses!" This was the case of the Stoker; butas regards what befel Zau al-Makan, he ceased not walking withthe Eunuch till he reached his station and the Castrato went into Nuzhat al-Zaman and said, "O my lady, I have brought thee himwhom thou soughtest, and he is a youth, fair of face and bearingthe marks of wealth and gentle breeding." When she heard this,her heart fluttered and she cried, "Let him recite some verses,that I may hear him near hand, and after ask him his name and hiscondition and his native land." Then the Eunuch went out to Zaual-Makan and said to him, "Recite what verses thou knowest, formy lady is here hard by, listening to thee, and after I will askthee of thy name and thy native country and thy condition."Replied he, "With love and gladness but, an thou ask my name, itis erased and my trace is unplaced and my body a waste. I have astory, the beginning of which is not known nor can the end of itbe shown, and behold, I am even as one who hath exceeded in winedrinking and who hath not spared himself; one who is afflictedwith distempers and who wandereth from his right mind, beingperplexed about his case and drowned in the sea of thought." WhenNuzhat al-Zaman heard this, she broke out into excessive weepingand sobbing, and said to the Eunuch, "Ask him if he have partedfrom one he loveth even as his mother or father." The Castratoasked as she bade him, and Zau al-Makan replied, "Yes, I haveparted from every one I loved: but the dearest of all to me wasmy sister, from whom Fate hath separated me." When Nuzhat al-Zaman heard this, she exclaimed, "Allah Almighty reunite him withwhat he loveth!"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day andceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nuzhatal-Zaman heard his words she said, "Allah reunite him with whathe loveth!" Then quoth she to the Eunuch, "Tell him to let mehear somewhat anent his separation from his countrymen and hiscountry." The Eunuch did so, and Zau al-Makan sighed heavily andbegan repeating these couplets,[FN#317]

"Is not her love a pledge by all mankind confest? * The house that hometh Hinda be forever blest'Her love all levels; man can reck of naught beside; * Naught or before or after can for man have zest'Tis though the vale is paved with musk and ambergris * That day when Hinda's footstep on its face is prest:Hail to the beauty of our camp, the pride of folk, * The dearling who en' Slaves all hearts by her behest:Allah on 'Time's Delight' send large dropped clouds that teem * With genial rain but bear no thunder in their breast."

When he had finished his verse, Nuzhat al-Zaman lifted up a skirtof the litter curtain and looked at him. As soon as her eyesfell on his face, she knew him for certain and cried out, "O mybrother! O Zau al-Makan!" He also looked at her and knew her andcried out, "O my sister! O Nuzhat al-Zaman!" Then she threwherself upon him and he gathered her to his bosom and the twainfell down in a fainting fit. When the Eunuch saw this case, hewondered at them and throwing over them somewhat to cover them,waited till they should recover. After a while they came tothemselves, and Nuzhat al-Zaman rejoiced with exceeding joy:oppression and depression left her and gladness took the masteryof her, and she repeated these verses,

"Time sware my life should fare in woeful waste; * Forsworn art Time, expiate thy sin in haste![FN#318]Comes weal and comes a welcome friend to aid; * To him who brings good news, rise, gird thy waistI spurned old world tales of Eden bliss; * Till came I Kausar[FN#319] on those lips

When Zau al-Makan heard this, he pressed his sister to hisbreast; tears streamed from his eyes for excess of joy and herepeated these couplets,[FN#320]

"Long I lamented that we fell apart, * While tears repentant railed from these eyne;And sware, if Time unite us twain once more, * 'Severance' shall never sound from tongue of mine:Joy hath so overwhelmed me that excess * Of pleasure from mine eyes draws gouts of brine:Tears, O mine eyes, have now become your wont * Ye weep for pleasure and you weep for pine!"

They sat awhile at the litter door till she said to him, "Comewith me into the litter and tell me all that hath befallen thee,and I will tell thee what happened to me." So they entered andZau al-Maken said, "Do thou begin thy tale." Accordingly she toldhim all that had come to her since their separation at the Khanand what had happened to her with the Badawi; how the merchanthad bought her of him and had taken her to her brother Sharrkanand had sold her to him; how he had freed her at the time ofbuying; how he had made a marriage contract with her and had gonein to her and how the King, their sire, had sent and asked forher from Sharrkan. Then quoth she, "Praised be Allah who hathvouchsafed thee to me and ordained that, even as we left ourfather together, so together shall we return to him!" And sheadded, "Of a truth my brother Sharrkan gave me in marriage tothis Chamberlain that he might carry me to my father. And thisis what befel me from first to last; so now tell me how it hathfared with thee since I left thee." Thereupon he told her allthat had happened to him from beginning to end; and how Allahvouchsafed to send the Fireman to him, and how he had journeyedwith him and spent his money on him and had served him night andday. She praised the Stoker for this and Zau al-Makan added, "Ofa truth, O my sister, this Fireman hath dealt with me in suchbenevolent wise as would not lover with lass nor sire with son,for that he fasted and gave me to eat, and he walked whilst hemade me ride; and I owe my life to him." Said she, "Allahwilling, we will requite him for all this, according to ourpower." Then she called the Eunuch, who came and kissed Zau al-Makan's hand, and she said, "Take thy reward for glad tidings, Oface of good omen! It was thy hand reunited me with my brother;so the purse I gave thee and all in it are thine. But now go tothy master and bring him quickly to me." The Castrato rejoicedand, going in to the Chamberlain, him to his mistress. Accordingly, he came in to his wife and finding Zau al-Makan withher, asked who he was. So she told him all that had befallenthem both, first and last, and added, "Know, O Chamberlain, thatthou hast married no slave girl; far from it, thou hast taken towife the daughter of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman for I am Nuzhat al-Zaman, and this is my brother, Zau al-Makan." When theChamberlain heard the story he knew it to be sooth, and itsmanifest truth appeared to him and he was certified that he wasbecome King Omar bin al-Nu'uman's son in law, so he said tohimself, " 'Twill be my fate to be made viceroy of someprovince."[FN#321] Then he went up to Zau al-Makan and gave himjoy of his safety and reunion with his sister, and bade hisservants forthwith make him ready a tent and one of the best ofhis own horses to ride. Thereupon said Nuzhat al-Zaman, "We arenow near our country and I would be left alone with my brother,that we may enjoy each other's company and take our fill of itere we reach Baghdad; for we have been parted a long, long time.""Be it as thou biddest," replied the Chamberlain, and, goingforth from them, sent them wax candles and various kinds ofsweetmeats, together with three suits of the costliest for Zaual-Makan. Then he returned to the litter and related the good hehad done and Nuzhat al-Zaman said to him, "Bid the Eunuch bringme the Fireman and give him a horse to ride and ration him with atray of food morning and evening, and let him be forbidden toleave us." The Chamberlain called the Castrato and charged him todo accordingly; so he replied, "I hear and I obey;" and he tookhis pages with him and went out in search of the Stoker till hefound him in the rear of the caravan, girthing his ass andpreparing for flight. The tears were running adown his cheeks,out of fear for his life and grief for his separation from Zaual-Makan; and he was saying to himself, "Indeed, I warned him forthe love of Allah, but he would not listen to me; Oh would I knewwhat is become of him!" Ere he had done speaking the Eunuch wasstanding by his head whilst the pages surrounded him The Firemanturned and seeing the Eunuch and the pages gathered around himbecame yellow with fear,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of dayand ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when theStoker girthed his ass for flight and bespake himself, saying,"Oh would I knew what is become of him!"; ere he had donespeaking the Castrato was standing by his head and his sidemuscles quivered for fear and he lifted up his voice and cried,"Verily he knoweth not the value of the good offices I have donehim! I believe he hath denounced me to the Eunuch (hence thesepages et about me) and he hath made me an accomplice in hiscrime." Then the effeminated one cried at him, saying, "Who wasit recited the verses? O liar! why didst thou say, 'I neverrepeated these couplets, nor do I know who repeated them;' whenit was thy companion? But now I will not leave thee between thisplace and Baghdad, and what betideth thy comrade shall betidethee." Quoth the Fireman, "What I feared hath befallen me." Andhe repeated this couplet,

"'Twas as I feared the coming ills discerning: * But unto Allah we are all returning."

Then the Eunuch cried upon the pages, saying, "Take him off theass." So they carried him along with the caravan, surrounded bythe pages, as the white contains the black of the eye; and theCastrato said to them, "If a hair of him be lost, you will belost with it." And he bade them privily treat him with honour andnot humiliate him. But when the Stoker saw himself beset by thepages, he despaired of his life and turning to the Eunuch, saidto him, "O Chief, I am neither this youth's brother nor am I akinto him, nor is he sib to me; but I was a Fireman in a Hammam andfound him cast out, in his sickness, on the dung heap." Then thecaravan fared on and the Stoker wept and imagined in himself athousand things, whilst the Eunuch walked by his side and toldhim nothing, but said to him, "Thou disturbedst our mistress byreciting verses, thou and this youth: but fear nothing for thyself;" and kept laughing at him the while to himself. Wheneverthe caravan halted, they served him with food, and he and theCastrato ate from one dish.[FN#322] Then the Eunuch bade his ladsbring a gugglet of sugared sherbet and, after drinking himself,gave it to the Fireman, who drank; but all the while his tearsnever dried, out of fear for his life and grief for hisseparation from Zau al-Makan and for what had befallen them intheir strangerhood. So they both travelled on with the caravan,whilst the Chamberlain now rode by the door of his wife's litter,in attendance on Zau al-Makan and his sister, and now gave an eyeto the Fireman; and Nuzhat al-Zaman and her brother occupiedthemselves with converse and mutual condolence; and they ceasednot after this fashion till they came within three days' journeyfrom Baghdad. Here they alighted at eventide and rested till themorning morrowed; and as they awoke and they were about to loadthe beasts, behold, there appeared afar off a great cloud of dustthat darkened the firmament till it became black as gloomiestnight.[FN#323] Thereupon the Chamberlain cried out to them,"Stay, and your loading delay!"; then, mounting with hisMamelukes, rode forward in the direction of the dust cloud. Whenthey drew near, suddenly appeared under it a numerous conqueringhost like the full tide sea, with flags and standards, drums andkettledrums, horsemen and footmen. The Chamberlain marvelled atthis; and when the troops saw him, there detached itself fromamongst them a plump of five hundred cavaliers, who fell upon himand his suite and surrounded them, five for one; whereupon saidhe to them, "What is the matter and what are these troops, thatye do this with us?" Asked they, "Who art thou; and whence comestthou, and whither art thou bound?" and he answered, "I am theChamberlain of the Emir of Damascus, King Sharrkan, son of Omarbin al-Nu'uman, Lord of Baghdad and of the land of Khorasan, andI bring tribute and presents from him to his father in Baghdad."When the horsemen heard his words they let their head kerchiefsfall over their faces and wept, saying, "In very sooth King Omaris dead and he died not but of poison. So fare ye forwards; noharm shall befal you till you join his Grand Wazir, Dandan." Nowwhen the Chamberlain heard this, he wept sore and exclaimed, "Ohfor our disappointment in this our journey!" Then he and all hissuite wept till they had come up with the host and sought accessto the Wazir Dandan, who granted an interview and called a haltand, causing his pavilion to be pitched, sat down on a couchtherein and commanded to admit the Chamberlain. Then he bade himbe seated and questioned him; and he replied that he wasChamberlain to the Emir of Damascus and was bound to King Omarwith presents and the tribute of Syria. The Wazir, hearing themention of King Omar's name, wept and said, "King Omar is dead bypoison, and upon his dying the folk fell out amongst themselvesas to who should succeed him, until they were like to slay oneanother on this account; but the notables and grandees and thefour Kazis interposed and all the people agreed to refer thematter to the decision of the four judges and that none shouldgainsay them. So it was agreed that we go to Damascus and fetchthence the King's son, Sharrkan, and make him Sultan over hisfather's realm. And amongst them were some who would have chosenthe cadet, Zau Al-Makan, for, quoth they, his name be Light ofthe Place, and he hath a sister Nuzhat al-Zaman highs, theDelight of the Time; but they set out five years ago for Al-Hijazand none wotteth what is become of them." When the Chamberlainheard this, he knew; that his wife had told him the truth of heradventures; and he grieved with sore grief for the death of KingOmar, albeit he joyed with exceeding joy, especially at thearrival of Zau al-Makan, for that he would now become Sultan ofBaghdad in his father's stead--And Shahrazad perceived the dawnof day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that whenSharrkan's Chamberlain heard of the death of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman he mourned, but he rejoiced because of his wife and herbrother Zau al-Makan who would become Sultan of Baghdad in hisfather's stead. So he turned to the Wazir Dandan and said tohim, "Verily your tale is a wonder of wonders! Know, O ChiefWazir, that here, where you have encountered me, Allah hath givenyou rest from fatigue and bringeth you your desire after theeasiest of fashions, for that His Almighty Will restoreth to youZau al-Makan and his sister Nuzhat al-Zaman; whereby we willsettle the matter as we easily can." When the Minister heardthese words he rejoiced with great joy and said, "O Chamberlain,tell me the tale of the twain and what befel them and the causeof their long absence." So he repeated to him the whole story andtold him that Nuzhat al-Zaman was his wife and related to him theadventures of Zau al-Makan from first to last. As soon as he hadended his tale, the Wazir sent for the Emirs and Wazirs and ChiefOfficers and acquainted them with the matter; whereat theyrejoiced with great joy and wondered at the happy chance. Thenthey gathered in a body and went in to the Chamberlain and didtheir service to him, kissing the ground between his hands; andthe Wazir Dandan also rose and went out to meet him and stoodbefore him in honour. After this, the Chamberlain held on thatday a Divan council; and he and the Wazir sat upon a throne,whilst all the Emirs and Grandees and Officers of State tooktheir places before them, according to their severalranks.[FN#324] Then they melted sugar in rose water and drank,after which the Emirs sat down to hold council and permitted therest of the host to mount and ride forward leisurely, till theyshould make an end of their debate and overtake them. So theofficers kissed the ground between their hands and mounting, rodeonwards, preceded by the standards of war. When the grandees hadfinished their conference, they took horse and rejoined the host;and the Chamberlain approached the Wazir Dandan and said, "I deemit well to ride on before you, and precede you, that I may getready a place for the Sultan and notify him of your coming and ofyour choosing him as Sultan over the head of his brotherSharrkan." "Aright thou reckest," answered the Wazir Then theChamberlain rose up in haste and Dandan also stood up to do himhonour and brought him presents, which he conjured him to accept. In similar guise did all the Emirs and Grandees and Officers ofState, bringing him gifts and calling down blessings on him andsaying to him, "Haply thou wilt mention our case to Sultan Zaual-Makan and speak to him to continue us in ourdignities."[FN#325] The Chamberlain promised all they requiredand bade his pages be ready to march, whereupon the Wazir Dandansent with him tents and bade the tent pitchers set them up at aday's journey from the city. And they did his bidding. Then theChamberlain mounted and rode forward, full of joy and saying tohimself, "How blessed is this gurney!", and indeed his wife wasexalted in his eyes, she and her brother Zau al-Makan. They madeall haste over their wayfare, till they reached a place distant aday's journey from Baghdad, where the Chamberlain called a haltfor rest, and bade his men alight and make ready a sitting placefor the Sultan Zau al-Makan, son of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman,while he rode forward with his Mamelukes and, alighting at adistance from Nuzhat al-Zaman's litter, commanded the eunuchs toask leave of admission to the presence. They did so and she gavepermission; whereupon he went in to her and conversed with herand her brother; and told them of the death of their father; andof Zau al-Makan, how the heads of the people had made him Kingover them in the stead of his sire; and he gave them joy of thekingdom. They both wept for their father and asked the manner ofhis being killed; but the Chamberlain answered, "The news restswith the Wazir Dandan who will be here tomorrow leading all thehost; and it only remaineth for thee, O King, to do what theycounsel, since they have unanimously chosen thee Sultan; for ifthou do not this, they will choose some one else and thou canstnot be sure of thy life with another Sultan. Haply he will killthee, or discord may befal between you twain and the kingdom passout of the hands of both." Zau al-Makan bowed his head awhile andthen said, "I accept this position;" for indeed there was norefusing; and he was certified that the Chamberlain hadcounselled him well and wisely and set him on the right way. Then he added, "O my uncle, how shall I do with my brotherSharrkan?" "O my son," replied the Chamberlain, "thy brother willbe Sultan of Damascus and thou Sultan of Baghdad; so take heartof grace and get ready thy case." Zau al-Makan accepted this andthe Chamberlain presented him with a suit of royal raiment and adagger[FN#326] of state, which the Wazir Dandan had brought withhim; then leaving him he bade the tent pitchers choose a spot ofrising ground and set up thereon a spacious pavilion, wherein theSultan might sit to receive the Emirs and Grandees. Moreover heordered the kitcheners to cook rich viands and serve them and hecommanded the water carriers to dispose the water troughs. Theydid as he bade them and presently arose a cloud of dust from theground and spread till it walled the horizon round. Afterawhile, the dust dispersed and there appeared under it the armyof Baghdad and Khorasan, a conquering host like the full tidesea.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to sayher permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when theChamberlain bade the tent pitchers set up a pavilion spaciousenough to receive the subjects flocking to their Sultan, theyplanted a splendid Shahmiyanah[FN#327] befitting Kings. And asthey ended their labours behold, a dust cloud spired aloft andthe breeze made it lift and beneath it showed a conquering host;and presently it appeared that this was the army of Baghdad andKhorasan preceded by the Wazir Dandan. And in it all rejoiced atthe accession of the "Light of the Place." Now Zau al-Makan haddonned robes of royal estate and girt himself with the sword ofstate: so the Chamberlain brought him a steed and he mountedsurrounded by the Mamelukes and all the company from the tents onfoot, to do him service, and he rode on until he came to thegreat pavilion, where he sat down and he laid the royal daggeracross his thighs, whilst the Chamberlain stood in attendance onhim and his armed slaves stationed themselves under the entranceawning of the Shahmiyanah, with drawn swords in their hands. Presently, up came the troops and the host and craved admissionso the Chamberlain went in to Zau al-Makan and asked his leavewhereupon he bade admit them, ten by ten. The Chamberlainacquainted them with the King's commands, to which they replied,"We hear and we obey;" and all drew up before the pavilionentrance. Then he took ten of them and carried them through thevestibule into the presence of Sultan Zau al-Makan, whom whenthey saw, they were awed; but he received them with most graciouskindness and promised them all good. So they gave him joy of hissafe return and invoked Allah's blessings upon him after whichthey took the oath of fealty never to gainsay him in aught andthey kissed ground before him and withdrew. Then other tenentered and he entreated them as he had entreated the ethers; andthey ceased not to enter, ten by ten, till none was left but theWazir Dandan. Lastly the Minister went in and kissed the groundbefore Zau al-Makan, who rose to meet him, saying, "Welcome, OWazir and sire sans peer! Verily, thine acts are those of acounsellor right dear, and judgement and foreseeing clear are inthe hands of the Subtle of Lere." Then bade he the Chamberlainforthwith go out and cause the tables to be spread and order allthe troops thereto. So they came and ate and drank. Moreoverthe Sultan commanded his Wazir Dandan call a ten days' halt ofthe army, that he might be private with him and learn from himhow and wherefore his father had been slain. The Wazir obeyedthe commands of the Sultan with submission and wished himeternity of glory and said, "This needs must be!" He thenrepaired to the heart of the encampment and ordered the host tohalt ten days. They did as he bade them and, moreover, he gavethem leave to divert themselves and ordered that none of thelords in waiting should attend upon the King for service duringthe space of three days. Then the Wazir went to the Sultan andreported all to him, and Zau al-Makan waited until nightfall,when he went in to his sister Nuzhat al-Zaman and asked her,"Dost thou know the cause of my father's murder or not?" "I haveno knowledge of the cause," she answered, and drew a silkencurtain before herself, whilst Zau al-Makan seated himselfwithout the curtain and commanded the Wazir to the presence and,when he came, said to him, "I desire thou relate to me in detailthe cause of the killing of my sire, King Omar bin al-Nu'uman!""Know then, O King," replied Dandan, "that King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, when he returned to Baghdad from his chasing and huntingand entered the city, enquired for thee and thy sister, but couldnot find you and knew that you twain had gone on the Pilgrimage;whereat he was greatly grieved and much angered, and his breastwas straitened and he abode thus half a year, seeking news of youfrom all who came and went but none could give him any tidings. Now while we were in attendance upon him one day, after a wholeyear had sped since ye were lost to his sight, lo! there came tous an ancient dame with signs of being a devotee, accompanied byfive damsels, high bosomed virgins like moons, endowed with suchbeauty and loveliness as tongue faileth to describe; and, tocrown their perfections of comeliness, they could read the Koranand were versed in various kinds of learning and in the historiesof bygone peoples. Then that old woman sought audience of theKing, and he bade admit her; whereupon she entered the presenceand kissed the ground between his hands. I was then sitting byhis side and he, seeing in her the signs of asceticism anddevoutness, made her draw near and take seat hard by him. Andwhen she had sat down she addressed him and said, 'Know, O King,that with me are five damsels, whose like no King among the Kingspossesseth; for they are endowed with wit and beauty andloveliness and perfection. They read the Koran--and theTraditions and are skilled in all manner of learning and in thehistory of bygone races. They stand here between thy hands to dothee service, O King of the Age, and it is by trial that folk areprized or despised. 'Thy father, who hath found mercy;[FN#328]looked at the damsels and their favour pleased him; so he said tothem, Let each and every of you make me hear something of whatshe knoweth anent the history of the folk of yore and of peopleslong gone before!'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day andceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Seventy-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the WazirDandan said unto King Zau al-Makan, "Thy father, who hath foundmercy, glanced at the damsels and their favour pleased him and hesaid to them, 'Let each and every of you make me hear somethingof what she knoweth anent the history of the folk of yore and ofpeoples long gone before!' Thereupon one of them came forwardand, kissing the ground before him, spake as follows[FN#329]'Know, O King, that it behoveth one of good breeding to eschewimpertinence and adorn himself with excellencies, and observe theDivine injunctions and avoid mortal sins; and to this he shouldapply himself with the assiduity of one who, if he straytherefrom, falleth into perdition; for the foundation of goodbreeding is virtuous behaviour. And know that the chief causeand reason of man's existence is the endeavour after lifeeverlasting, and the right way thereto is the service of Allah. Wherefore it behoveth thee to deal beneficently with the people:and swerve not from this canon, for the mightier men are indignity, the more their need of prudence and foresight; andindeed Monarchs need this more than the many, for the generalcast themselves into affairs, without taking thought to the issuethereof. Be thou prodigal of thy life and thy good in the way ofAllah, and know that, if an enemy dispute with thee, thou maystdispute with him and refute him with proofs and be proof againsthim; but as for thy friend, there is none can judge between theeand him save righteousness and fair dealing. Choose, therefore,thy friend for thyself, after thou hast proved him. If he be ofthe brotherhood of futurity,[FN#330] let him be zealous inobserving the externals of the Holy Law and versed in its innermeaning, as far as may be; and if he be of the brotherhood of theworld, let him be free born, sincere, neither a fool nor aperverse, for the fool man is such that even his parents mightwell flee from him, and a liar cannot be a true friend. Indeedthe word, Siddik[FN#331] ('friend') deriveth from Sidk ('truth')that welleth up from the bottom of the heart; and how can this bethe case, when falsehood is manifest upon the tongue? And know,that the observance of the Law profiteth him who practiseth it:so love thy brother, if he be of this quality and do not cast himoff, even if thou see in him that which irketh thee, for a friendis not I like a wife, whom one can divorce and re-marry: nay, hisheart is like glass: once broken, it may not be mended. AndAllah bless him who saith,

The maiden continued and concluded with pointing out to us whatsages say, 'The best of brethren is he who is the most constantin good counsel; the best of action is that which is fairest inits consequence, and the best of praise is not that which is inthe mouths of men. It is also said, 'It behoveth not the servantto neglect thanking Allah especially for two favours, health andreason.' Again it is said, 'Whoso honoureth himself, his lust isa light matter to him, and he who maketh much of his smalltroubles, Allah afflicteth him with the greater; he who obeyethhis own inclination neglecteth his duties and he who listeneth tothe slanderer loseth the true friend. He who thinketh well ofthee, do thou fulfill his thought of thee. He who exceedeth incontention sinneth, and he who against upright standeth not onward, is not safe from the sword. Now will I tell thee somewhatof the duties of Kazis and judges. Know, O King, that nojudgement serveth the cause of justice save it be given afterproof positive, and it behoveth the judge to treat all people onthe same level, to the intent that the great may not hunger foroppression nor the small despair of justice. Furthermore heshould extract proof from the complainant and impose an oath uponthe defendant; and mediation is admissible between Moslems,except it be a compromise sanctioning the unlawful or forbiddingthe lawful.[FN#332] If thou shalt have done aught during the day,of which thy reason is doubtful but thy good intention is proved,thou (O Kazi) shouldst revert to the right, for to do justice isa religious obligation and to return to that which is right isbetter than persistence in wrong. Then (O judge) thou shouldeststudy precedents and the law of the case and do equal justicebetween the suitors, withal fixing thine eyes upon the truth andcommitting thine affair to Allah (be He extolled and exalted!). And require thou proof of the complainant, and if he adduceevidence let him have due benefit of it; and if not, put thedefendant to his oath; for this is the ordinance of Allah. Receive thou the testimony of competent Moslem witnesses, oneagainst other, for Almighty Allah hath commanded judges to judgeby externals, He Himself taking charge of the inner and secretthings. It behoveth the judge also to avoid giving judge meet,whilst suffering from stress of pain or hunger,[FN#333] and thatin his decisions between folk he seek the face of Allah Almightyfor he whose intent is pure and who is at peace with himself,Allah shall guarantee him against what is between him and thepeople.' Quoth al-Zuhri,[FN#334] 'There are three things forwhich, if they be found in a Kazi, he should be deposed; namely,if he honour the base, if he love praise and if he feardismissal. And Omar bin Abd al-Aziz once deposed a Kazi, whoasked him, 'Why hast thou dismissed me? It hath reached me,'answered Omar, 'that thy converse is greater than thy condition.'It is said also that Iskandar[FN#335] said to his Kazi, 'I haveinvested thee with this function and committed to thee in it mysoul and mine honour and my manliness; so do thou guard it withthy sense and thine understanding.' To his Cook he said, 'Thouart the Sultan of my body; so look thou tender it as thine ownself.' To his Secretary he said, 'Thou art the controller of mywit: so do thou watch over me in what thou writest for me andfrom me.'" Thereupon the first damsel backed out from thepresence and a second damsel came forward.--And Shahrazadperceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eightieth Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that theWazir Dandan said to Zau al-Makan, "Thereupon the first damselbacked out from the presence and a second damsel came forwardand, kissing the ground seven times before the King thy father,spake as follows, 'The sage Lukman[FN#336] said to his son,'There be three who are known only in three several cases; themerciful man is unknown save in time of wrath, the brave only inbattle, and thy friend in time of need.' It is said that theoppressor shall be depress though by people praised, and that theoppress is at rest though by people blamed. Quoth AllahAlmighty,[FN#337] 'Assuredly deem not that those who rejoice inwhat they have done, and who love to be praised for what theyhave not done, shall escape reckoning of punishment: indeed thereis reserved for them a grievous penalty.' And he said[FN#338] (onwhom be salvation and salutation!), 'Works are according tointention and to each man is attributed that which he intendeth.'He said also, 'In the body is a part which being sound the restis sound, and which being unsound the whole is unsound.' And thisis the heart. Now this heart is the most marvellous of what isin man, since it is that which ordereth his whole affair: Ifcovetise stir in it, desire destroyeth him, and if afflictionmaster it, anguish slayeth him; if anger rage in it, danger ishard upon him; if it be blest with contentment, he is safe fromdiscontent; if fear surprise it, he is full of mourning; and ifcalamity overtake it, affliction betideth him. If a man gain theuse of wealth, peradventure he is diverted thereby from theremembrance of his Lord; if poverty choke him his heart isdistracted by woe, or if disquietude waste his heart, weaknesscauseth him to fall. Thus, in any case, nothing profiteth himbut that he be mindful of Allah and occupy himself with gaininghis livelihood in this world and securing his place in the next. It was asked of a certain sage, 'Who is the most ill conditionedof men?'; and he answered, 'The man whose lusts master hismanhood and whose mind soareth over high, so that his knowledgedispreadeth and his excuse diminisheth; and how excellently saiththe poet,

Freest am I of all mankind fro' meddling wight * Who, seeing others err, self error ne'er can sight:Riches and talents are but loans to creature lent, * Each wears the cloak of that he bears in breast and sprite:If by mistaken door attempt on aught thou make, * Thou shalt go wrong and if the door be right, go right!'

Continued the maiden, 'As for anecdotes of devotees, quoth Hishambin Bashar, 'I asked Omar bin Ubayd, What is true piety?'; and heanswered, 'The Apostle of Allah (to whom be salutation andsalvation!) hath explained it when he sayeth, The pious is he whoforgetteth not the grave nor calamity and who preferreth thatwhich endureth to that which passeth away; who counteth not themorrow as of his days but reckoneth himself among the dead.' Andit is related that Abu Zarr[FN#339] used to say, Want is dearerto me than wealth, and unheal is dearer to me than health.' Quothone of the listeners, 'May Allah have mercy on Abu Zarr!'. Formy part, I say, 'Whoso putteth his trust in the goodness of theelection of Almighty Allah should be content with that conditionwhich Allah hath chosen for him.' Quoth one of the Companions ofthe Prophet, 'Ibn Abi Aufa[FN#340] once prayed with us the dawnprayer. When he had done, he recited, 'O ThouEnwrapped!'[FN#341] till he came to where Allah saith, 'Whenthere shall be a trumping on the trumpet,' and fell down dead. It is said that Sabit al-Banani wept till he well nigh lost hiseyes. They brought him a man to medicine him who said to him, 'Iwill cure thee, provided thou obey my bidding' Asked Sabit, 'Inwhat matter?' Quoth the leach, 'In that thou leave weeping!''What is the worth of mine eyes?', rejoined Sabit, 'if they donot weep?' Quoth a man to Mohammed bin Abdillah, 'Exhort thoume!'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to sayher permitted say.

When it was the Eighty-first Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that theWazir Dandan said to Zau al-Makan, "Thus spake the second handmaid to the King who hath found mercy, Omar bin al-Nu'uman. 'Quoth a man to Mohammed bin Abdillah, Exhort thou me!' 'I exhortthee,' replied he, 'to be a self ruler, an abstainer in thisworld, and in the next a greedy slave.' 'How so?' asked the otherand Mohammed answered, 'The abstinent man in this worldconquereth both the world that is and the world to come.' Andquoth Ghaus bin Abdillah, 'There were two brothers among the sonsof Israel, one of whom said to the other, 'What be the mostperilous[FN#342] thing thou hast done?' Replied the brother, 'Ionce came upon a nest of young birds; so I took out one and threwit back into the nest; but among the chickens were some whichdrew apart from it. This is the most perilous thing I ever did;now what be the most perilous thing thou hast ever done?' Herejoined, 'When I arise for prayer I am fearful that it is onlyfor the sake of the reward.' Now their father heard these wordsand exclaimed, 'O Allah, an say they sooth take them to Thyself!'It was declared by one of the wise men, 'Verily, these were ofthe most virtuous of children.' Quoth Sa'id bin Jubayr,[FN#343]'I was once in company with Fuzalah bin 'Ubaydand said to him,'Exhort thou me!, Replied he, 'Bear in mind these twonecessaries, Shun syntheism[FN#344] and harm not any of Allah'screatures.' And he repeated these two couplets,

'Be as thou wilt, for Allah still is bounteous Lord, * And care dispeller dread not therefore bane and banTo two things only never draw thee nigh, nor give * Partner to Allah trouble to thy brother man.'

And how well saith the poet,

'An thou of pious works a store neglect * And after death meet one who did collect,Thou shalt repent thou diddest not as he, * Nor madest ready as he did elect.'

Then the third damsel came forward, after the second had withdrawn, and said, 'Of a truth, the chapter of piety is exceedingwide; but I will mention what occurreth to me thereof, concerningthe pious of old. Quoth a certain holy man, 'I congratulatemyself in death, though I am not assured of rest therein, savethat I know death interveneth between a man and his works; so Ihope for the doubling of good works and the docking off of illworks.' And Ita'a al Salami, when he had made an end of anexhortation, was wont to tremble and grieve and weep sore; and asthey asked him why he did this he answered, 'I desire to enterupon a grave matter, and it is the standing up before AlmightyAllah to do in accordance with my exhortation.' In similar guiseZayn al-Abidin,[FN#345] son of Al-Husayn, was wont to tremblewhen he rose to pray. Being asked the cause of this, he replied,'Know ye not before whom I stand and whom I address?' It is saidthat there lived near Sufyan al-Thauri[FN#346] a blind man who,when the month of Ramazan came, went out with the folk topray,[FN#347] but remained silent and hung back. Said Sufyan,'On the Day of Resurrection he shall come with the people of theKoran and they will be distinguished by increase of honour fromtheir fellows.' Quoth Sufyan, 'Were the soul established in theheart as befitteth, it would fly away for joy and pining forParadise, and for grief and fear of hell-fire.' It is relatedalso of Sufyan Al-Thauri that he said, 'To look upon the face ofa tyrant is a sin.' Then the third damsel retired and came forward the fourth, who said, 'Here am I to treat of sundrytraditions of pious men which suggest themselves to me. It isrelated that Bishr Barefoot[FN#348] said, 'I once heard Khalidsay, 'Beware of secret polytheism.' I asked, 'What may secretpolytheism be?'; and he answered, 'When one of you in prayingprolong his inclinations and prostrations till a cause ofimpurity[FN#349] come upon him.' And one of the sages said,'Doing works of weal expiateth what is ill.' QuothIbrahim,[FN#350] 'I supplicated Bishr Barefoot to acquaint mewith some theological mysteries; but he said, 'O my son, thisknowledge it behoveth us not to teach to every one; of everyhundred five, even as the legal alms upon money.' Said Ibrahim,'I thought his reply excellent and approved of it and while I waspraying behold, Bishr was also praying: so I stood behindhim[FN#351] making the prayer bow till the Mu'ezzin called hiscall. Then rose a man of tattered appearance and said, O folk,beware of a truth which bringeth unweal, for there is no harm ina lie bringing weal,[FN#352] and in time of need no choice weheed: speech booteth not in the absence of good qualities even assilence hurteth not in the presence of good. Presently I sawBishr drop a danik,[FN#353] so I picked it up and exchanged itfor a dirham which I gave him. Quoth he, 'I will not take it.'Quoth I, 'It is perfectly lawful change'; but he rejoined 'Icannot take in exchange the riches of the present world for thoseof the future world.' It is related also that Bishr Barefoot'ssister once went to Ahmad bin Hanbal"[FN#354]--And Shahrazadperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eighty-second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the WazirDandan continued to bespeak Zau al-Makan on this wise, "And quoththe maiden to thy father, 'Bishr Barefoot's sister once went toAhmad bin Hanbal and said to him, 'O Imam of the Faith, we are afamily that spin thread by night and work for our living by day;and oftentimes the cressets of the watch of Baghdad pass by andwe on the roof spinning by their light. Is this forbidden tous?' Asked Ahmad:'Who are thou?' 'I am the sister of BishrBarefoot,' answered she. Rejoined the Iman, 'O household ofBishr, I shall never cease to drink full draughts of piety fromyour hearts.' Quoth one of the sages, 'When Allah willeth well toHis servant He openeth upon him the gate of action.' Malik binDinar,[FN#355] when he passed through the bazar and saw aught hedesired, was wont to say, 'O soul, take patience, for I will notaccord to thee what thou desirest.' He said also (Allah accepthim!), 'The salvation of the soul lies in resistance to it andits damnation in submission to it.' Quoth Mansur binAmmar,[FN#356] 'I made a pilgrimage and was faring Meccahwards byway of Cufa, and the night was overcast, when I heard a voicecrying out from the deeps of the darkness saying, 'O Allah, Iswear by Thy Greatness and Thy Glory, I meant not through mydisobedience to transgress against Thee; for indeed I am notignorant of Thee; but my fault is one Thou didst foreordain to mefrom eternity without beginning;[FN#357] so do Thou pardon mytransgression, for indeed I disobeyed Thee of my ignorance!' Whenhe had made an end of his prayer he recited aloud the verse, 'Otrue believers, save your souls and those of your families fromthe fire whose fuel is men and stones.'[FN#358] Then I heard afall, but not knowing what it was I passed on. When the morningmorrowed, as we went our way, behold, we fell in with a funeraltrain, followed by an old woman whose strength had left her. Iasked her of the dead, and she answered, 'This is the funeral ofa man who passed by us yesterday whilst my son was standing atprayer and after his prayers he recited a verse from the Book ofAllah Almighty when the man's gall bladder burst and he felldead.' Therewith the fourth damsel retired and the fifth cameforward and said, 'I here will also repeat what occurreth to meregarding the acts of devotees in olden time. Maslamah bin Dinarused to say, 'By making sound the secret thoughts, sins great andsmall are covered'; and, 'when the servant of Allah is resolvedto leave sinning, victory cometh to him.' Also quoth he, 'Everyworldly good which doth not draw one nearer to Allah is acalamity, for a little of this world distracteth from a mickle ofthe world to come and a mickle of the present maketh thee forgetthe whole of the future.' It was asked of Abu Hazim,[FN#359] 'Whois the most prosperous of men?'; and he answered, 'Whoso spendethhis life in submission to Allah.' The other enquired, 'And who isthe most foolish of mankind?' 'Whoso selleth his future for theworldly goods of others,' replied Abu Hazim. It is reported ofMoses[FN#360] (on whom be peace!) that when he came to the watersof Midian he exclaimed, 'O Lord, verily I stand in need of thegood which thou shalt send down to me.'[FN#361] And he asked ofhis Lord and not of his folk. There came two damsels and he drewwater for them both and allowed not the shepherds to draw first. When the twain returned, they informed their father Shu'ayb (onwhom be peace!) who said, 'Haply, he is hungry,' adding to one ofthem, 'Go back to him and bid him hither.' Now when she came toMoses, she veiled her face and said, 'My father biddeth thee tohim that he may pay thee thy wage for having drawn water for us.'Moses was averse to this and was not willing to follow her. Nowshe was a woman large in the back parts, and the wind blowingupon her garment[FN#362] covered the hinder cheeks to Moses;which when Moses saw, he lowered his eyes and said to her, 'Getthee behind while I walk in front.' So she followed him till heentered the house of Shu'ayb where supper was ready."--AndShahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say herpermitted say.

When it was the Eighty-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the WazirDandan continued to Zau al-Makan, "Now, quoth the fifth damsel tothy sire, 'When Moses (on whom be peace!) entered the home ofShu'ayb where supper was ready, Shu'ayb said to him, 'O Moses, Idesire to pay thee thy wage for having drawn water for thesetwo.' But Moses answered, 'I am of a household which sellethnothing of the fashion of the next world[FN#363] for what is onearth of gold and silver.' Then quoth Shu'ayb, 'O youth! nevertheless thou art my guest, and it is my wont and that of myforbears to honour the guest by setting food before him.' SoMoses sat down and ate. Then Shu'ayb hired Moses for eightpilgrimages, that is to say, eight years, and made his wagemarriage with one of his two daughters, and Moses' service to himwas to stand for her dowry. As saith the Holy Writ of him,'Verily I will give thee one of these my two daughters inmarriage, on condition that thou serve me for hire eightpilgrimages: and if thou fulfil ten years, it is in thine ownbreast; for I seek not to impose a hardship on thee.'[FN#364] Acertain man once said to one of his friends whom he had not metfor many days, 'Thou hast made me desolate, for that I have notseen thee this long while.' Quoth the other, 'I have beendistracted from thee by Ibn Shihab: dost thou know him?' Quothhis friend, 'Yes, he hath been my neighbour these thirty years,but I have never spoken to him.' He replied, 'Verily thouforgettest Allah in forgetting--thy neighbour! If thou lovedstAllah thou wouldst love thy neighbour. Knowest thou not that aneighbour hath a claim upon his neighbour,[FN#365] even as theright of kith and kin?' Said Huzayfah, 'We entered Meccah withIbrahim bin Adham, and Shakik al-Balkhi was also making apilgrimage that year. Now we met whilst circumambulating theKa'abah and Ibrahim said to Shakik, 'What is your fashion in yourcountry?' Replied Shakik, 'When we are blest with our daily breadwe eat, and when we hunger we take patience.' 'This wise,' saidIbrahim, 'do the dogs of Balkh; but we, when blest with plenty,do honour to Allah and when an hungered we thank Him.' And Shakikseated himself before Ibrahim and said to him, 'Thou art mymaster.' Also said Mohammed bin Imran, 'A man once asked of Hatimthe Deaf[FN#366] 'What maketh thee to trust in Allah?' 'Twothings,' answered he, 'I know that none save myself shall eat mydaily bread, so my heart is at rest as to that; and I know that Iwas not created without the knowledge of Allah, and am abashedbefore Him.' Then the fifth damsel retired and the ancient damecame forward and, kissing the ground before thy father ninetimes, said, 'Thou hast heard, O King, what these all have spokenon the subject of piety; and I will follow their example inrelating what hath reached me of the famous men of past times. It is said that the Imam al-Shafi'i departed the night into threeportions, the first for study, the second for sleep and the thirdfor prayer. The Imam Abu Hanifah[FN#367] was wont also to passhalf the night in prayer. One

day a man pointed him out to another, as he walked by andremarked, 'Yonder man watcheth the whole night.' When he heardthis Abu Hanifah said, 'I was abashed before Allah to hear myselfpraised for what was not in me'; so after this he used to watchthe whole night. And one of the Sages hath said,

'Who seeketh for pearl in the Deep dives deep; * Who on high would hie robs his night of sleep.'

Al-Rabi a relates that Al-Shafi'i used to recite the whole Koranseventy times during the month of Ramazan, and that in his dailyprayers. Quoth Al-Shafi'i (Allah accept him!), 'During ten yearsI never ate my fill of barley bread, for fullness hardeneth theheart and deadeneth the wit and induceth sleep and enfeebleth onefrom standing up to pray.'[FN#368] It is reported of Abdullah binMohammed al-Sakra that he said, 'I was once talking with Omar andhe observed to me, 'Never saw I a more God fearing or eloquentman than Mohammed bin Idris al-Shafi'i.' It so happened I wentout one day with Al-Haris bin Labib al-Saffar, who was a discipleof Al-Muzani[FN#369] and had a fine voice and he read the sayingof the Almighty, 'This shall be a day whereon they shall notspeak to any purpose, nor shall they be permitted to excusethemselves.'[FN#370] I saw Al-Shafi'i's colour change; his skinshuddered with horripilation, he was violently moved and he felldown in a fainting fit When he revived he said, 'I take refugewith Allah from the stead of the liars and the lot of thenegligent! O Allah, before whom the hearts of the wise abasethemselves, O Allah, of Thy bene ficence accord to me theremission of my sins, adorn me with the curtain of Thy protectionand pardon me my shortcomings, by the magnanimity of Thy Being!'Then I rose and went away. Quoth one of the pious, 'When Ientered Baghdad, Al-Shafi'i was there. So I sat down on theriver bank to make the ablution before prayer; and behold, therepassed me one who said, 'O youth, make thy Wuzu-ablution well andAllah will make it well for thee in this world and in the next.'I turned and lo! there was a man behind whom came a company ofpeople. So I hastened to finish my ablution and followed him. Presently, he turned and asked me, 'Say, dost thou want aught?''Yes,' answered I, 'I desire that thou teach me somewhat of thatwhich Allah Almighty hath taught thee.' He said, 'Know then thatwhoso believeth in Allah shall be saved, and whoso jealouslyloveth his faith shall be delivered from destruction, and whosopractiseth abstinence in this world, his eyes shall be solaced onthe morrow of death. Shall I tell thee any more?' I replied,'Assuredly;' and he continued, 'Be thou of the world that is,heedless; and of the world to come, greediest. Be truthful inall thy dealings, and thou shalt be saved with theSalvationists.' Then he went on and I asked about him and wastold that he was the Imam Al-Shafi'i. Al-Shafi'i was wont toremark, 'I love to see folk profit by this learning of mine, oncondition that nothing of it be attributed to me."--And Shahrazadperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eighty-fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the WazirDandan continued to Zau al-Makan, "The old woman bespake thysire, saying, 'The Imam Al-Shafi'i was wont to remark, I love tosee folk profit by this learning of mine on condition thatnothing of it be attributed to me.' He also said, 'I neverdisputed with any one, but I would that Almighty Allah shouldgive him the knowledge of the Truth and aid him to dispread it:nor did I ever dispute with anyone at all but for the showingforth of the Truth, and I reck not whether Allah manifest it bymy tongue or by His.' He said also (whom Allah accept!), 'If thoufear to grow conceited of thy lore, then bethink thee Whose gracethou seekest and for what good thou yearnest and what punishmentthou dreadest.' It was told to Abu Hanifah that the Commander ofthe Faithful, Abu Ja'afar al-Mansur, had appointed him Kazi andordered him a salary of ten thousand dirhams; but he would notaccept of this; and, when the day came on which the money was tobe paid him, he prayed the dawn prayer, then covered his headwith his robe--and spoke not. When the Caliph's messenger camewith the money, he went in to the Imam and accosted him, but hewould not speak to him. So the messenger said, 'Verily thismoney is lawfully thine.' 'I know that it is lawfully mine,'replied he: 'but I abhor that the love of tyrants get a hold uponmy heart.'[FN#371] Asked the other, 'If thou go in to them canstthou not guard thyself from loving them?' Answered Abu Hanifah,'Can I look to enter the sea without my clothes being wet?'Another of Al-Shafi'i's sayings (Allah accept him!) is,

'Oh soul of me, an thou accept my rede, * Thou shalt be wealthy and of grace entire:Cast off ambitious hopes and vain desires, * How many a death was done by vain desire!'

Among the sayings of Sufyan al-Thauri, with which he admonishedAli bin al-Hasan al-Salami was, 'Be thou a man of truth and 'warelies and treachery and hypocrisy and pride. Be not indebted saveto Him who is merciful to His debtors; and let thine associate beone who shall dissociate thee from the world. Be ever mindful ofdeath and be constant in craving pardon of Allah and inbeseeching of Allah peace for what remaineth of thy life. Counsel every True Believer, when he asketh thee concerning thethings of his faith; and beware of betraying a Believer, forwhoso betrayeth a Believer, betrayeth Allah and His Apostle. Avoid dissensions and litigation; and leave that which causethdoubt in thee for things which breed no doubt:[FN#372] so shaltthou be at peace. Enjoin beneficence and forbid malevolence: soshalt thou be loved of Allah. Adorn thine inner man and Allahshall adorn thine outer man. Accept the excuse of him whoexcuseth self to thee and hate not any one of the Moslems. Drawnear unto those who withdraw from thee and excuse those thatmisuse thee: so shalt thou be the friend of the Prophets. Letthine affairs, both public and private, be in Allah's charge, andfear Him with the fear of one who knoweth he is dead and whofareth towards Resurrection and Judgement stead between the handsof the Lord of Dread; and remember that to one of two houses thouart sped, either for Heavens eterne or to the Hell fires thatburn.' Thereupon the old woman sat down beside the damsels. Nowwhen thy father, who hath found mercy, heard their discourse, heknew that they were the most accomplished of the people of theirtime; and, seeing their beauty and loveliness and the extent oftheir wisdom and lore, he showed them all favour. Moreover, heturned to the ancient dame and treated her with honour, and setapart for her and her damsels the palace which had lodgedPrincess Abrizah, daughter of the King of Greece, to which hebade carry all the luxuries they needed. They abode with him tendays and the old woman abode with them; and, whenever the Kingvisited them, he found her absorbed in prayer, watching by nightand fasting by day; whereby love of her took hold upon his heartand he said to me, 'O Wazir, verily this old woman is of thepious, and awe of her is strong in my heart.' Now on the eleventhday, the King visited her, that he might pay her the price of thedamsels; but she said to him, 'O King, know that the price ofthese maidens surpasseth the competence of men; indeed I seek notfor them either gold or silver or jewels, be it little or much.'Now when thy father heard these words he wondered and asked her,'O my lady and what is their price?'; whereto she answered, 'Iwill not sill them to thee save on condition that thou fast,watching by night a whole month, and abstaining by day, all forthe love of Allah Almighty; and, if thou do this, they are thyproperty to use in thy palace as thou please.' So the Kingwondered at the perfection of her rectitude and piety andabnegation; she was magnified in his eyes and he said, 'Allahmake this pious woman to profit us!' Then he agreed with her tofast for a month as she had stipulated, and she said to him, 'Iwill help thee with the prayers I pray for thee and now bring mea gugglet of water.' They brought one and she took it and recitedover it and muttered spells, and sat for an hour speaking inspeech no one understood or knew aught thereof. Lastly shecovered it with a cloth and, sealing it with her signet ring,gave it to thy sire, saying, 'When thou hast fasted the first tendays, break thy fast on the eleventh night with what is in thisgugglet, for it will root out the love of the world from thyheart and fill it with light and faith. As for me, tomorrow Iwill go forth to my brethren, the Invisible[FN#373] Controuls,for I yearn after them, and I will return to thee when the firstten days are past. Thy father took the gugglet and arose and setit apart in a closet of his palace, then locked the door and putthe key in his pocket. Next day the King fasted and the oldwoman went her ways."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of dayand ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eighty-fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the WazirDandan thus continued to Zau al-Makan, "Now when came the day forthe Sultan's fast, the old woman went her ways. And after he hadaccomplished the ten days thereof, on the eleventh he opened thegugglet and drank what was therein and found it cordial to hisstomach. Within the second ten days of the month the old womanreturned, bringing sweetmeats wrapped in a green leaf, like noleaf of known tree. She went in to thy sire and saluted him;and, when he saw her, he rose to her saying, 'Welcome, O piouslady!' 'O King,' quoth she, 'the Invisible Controuls salute thee,for I told them of thee, and they rejoiced in thee and have sentthee their Halwa,[FN#374] which is of the sweetmeats of the otherworld. Do thou break thy fast on it at the end of the day.' TheKing rejoiced at this with great joy, and exclaimed, 'Praised beAllah, who hath given me brethren of the Invisible World!'Thereupon he thanked the ancient dame and kissed her hands; andhe honoured her and the damsels with exceeding honour. She wentforth for the twenty days of thy father's fast at the end ofwhich time she came to him and said, 'Know, O King, that I toldthe Invisible Controuls of the love which is between me and thee,and informed them how I had left the maidens with thee, and theywere glad that the damsels should belong to a King like thee; forthey were wont, when they saw them, to be strenuous in offeringon their behalf prayers and petitions ever granted. So I wouldfain carry them to the Invisible Controuls that they may benefitby the breath of their favour, and peradventure, they shall notreturn to thee without some treasure of the treasures of theearth, that thou, after completing thy fast, mayst occupy thyselfwith their raiment and help thyself by the money they shall bringthee, to the extent of thy desires.' When thy sire heard herwords, he thanked her for them and said, 'Except that I fear tocross thee, I would not accept the treasure or aught else; butwhen wilt thou set out with them?' Replied she, 'On the seven andtwentieth night; and I will bring them back to thee at the headof the month, by which time thou wilt have accomplished thy fastand they will have had their courses and be free from impurity;and they shall become thine and be at thy disposal. By Allah,each damsel of them is worth many times thy kingdom!' He said, 'Iknow it, O pious lady!' Then quoth the old woman, 'There is nohelp but that thou send with them someone in thy palace who isdear to thee, that she may find solace and seek a blessing of theInvisible Controuls.' Quoth he, 'I have a Greek slave calledSophia, by whom I have been blessed with two children, a girl anda boy; but they were lost; years ago. Take her with thee thatshe may get the blessing'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn ofday and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eighty-sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the WazirDandan continued to Zau al-Makan, "Quoth thy sire to the ancientwoman when she demanded the handmaids of him, 'I have a Greekslave called Sophia, by whom I have been blest with two children,a girl and a boy, but they were lost years ago; so take her withthee, haply she may get the benediction and, belike, theInvisible Controuls will sue Allah for her that her two childrenmay be restored to her.' 'Thou hast said well,' replied she; 'forthat indeed was her grievousest want.' Thy sire gave not overfinishing his fast till the old woman said to him, 'O my son, Iam going to the Invisible Controuls; so bring me Sophia.'Accordingly, he summoned her and she came forthright, and hedelivered her to the old woman who mixed her up with the otherdamsels. Then she went in to her chamber and bringing out asealed cup, presented it to the Sultan saying, 'On the thirtiethday, do thou repair to the Hammam and when thou comest out, enterone of the closets in thy palace and drink what is in this cup. Then sleep, and thou shalt attain what thou seekest, and peace bewith thee'! Thereat the King was glad and thanked her and kissedher hands. Quoth she, 'I commend thee to Allah's care;' whereatquoth he, 'And when shall I see thee again, O pious lady? Invery sooth I love not to part with thee.' Then she called downblessings on him and departed with the five damsels and theQueen; whilst the King fasted after her departure other threedays, till the month ended, when he arose and went to the Hammamand coming out shut himself up in a closet of his palace,commanding that none should go in to him. There, after makingfast the door, he drank what was in the cup and lay down tosleep; and we sat awaiting him till the end of the day, but hedid not come out and we said, 'Perchance he is tired with thebath and with watching by night and fasting by day; wherefore hesleepeth.' So we waited till next day; but still he did not comeforth. Then we stood at the closet door and cried aloud so haplyhe might awake and ask what was the matter. But nothing came ofthat; so at last we lifted up the door;[FN#375] and, going in,found him dead, with his flesh torn into strips and bits and hisbones broken.[FN#376] When we saw him in this condition it wasgrievous to us, and we took up the cup and found within its covera piece of paper whereon was inscribed, 'Whoso doeth evil leavethno regrets, and this be the reward of him who playeth traitorwith the daughters of Kings and who debaucheth them; and we makeknown to all who fall upon this scroll that Sharrkan, when hecame to our country, seduced our Queen Abrizah; nor did thatsuffice him but he must needs take her from us and bring her toyou. Then he[FN#377] sent her away in company of a black slavewho slew her, and we found her lying dead on the desert sward andthrown out to wild beasts. This be no kingly deed, and he whodid this is requited with naught but what he merited. So do yesuspect none of having killed him, for no one slew him but thecunning witch, whose name is Zat al-Dawahi. And behold, I havetaken the King's wife, Sophia, and have carried her to herfather, Afridun King of Constantinople. Moreover, there is nohelp for it but that we wage war upon you and kill you and takeyour country from you, and ye shall be cut off even to the lastman, nor shall a living soul be spared by Death nor one whobloweth fire with his breath, save he who Cross and Belt[FN#378]worshippeth.' When we read this paper, we knew that the ancientwoman had beguiled us and carried out her plot against us:whereupon we cried aloud and buffeted our faces and wept sorewhen weeping availed us naught. And the troops fell out as towhom they should make Sultan; some would have thee, and otherswould have thy brother Sharrkan; and we ceased not to disputeabout this for the space of a month, at the end of which certainof us drew together and agreed to repair to thy brother Sharrkan:so we set out and journeyed on till we fell in with thee. Andsuch is the manner of the death of Sultan Omar bin al-Nu'uman!"Now when the Wazir Dandan had made an end of his story, Zau al-Makan and his sister, Nuzhat al-Zaman wept; and the Chamberlain,who wept also, said to Zau al-Makan, "O King, weeping will availthee naught; nor shall aught profit thee but that thou harden thyheart and strengthen thy stress and establish thy sovranty; forverily whoso leaveth the like of thee is not dead." Thereupon Zaual-Makan gave over his weeping and caused his throne to be set upwithout the pavilion, and then commanded the army to pass inreview order before him. And the Chamberlain sat by his side andall the armour-bearers[FN#379] behind him, whilst the WazirDandan and the rest of the Emirs and Grandees stood each in hisindividual stead. Then quoth King Zau al-Makan to the MinisterDandan, "Inform me concerning my sire's treasures;" and hereplied, "I hear and I obey;" and gave him to know of the lateKing's hoards and monies, and what was in the treasury of amassedwealth and jewels, and acquainted him with other precious things. So Zau al-Makan opened his hand to the army, and gave a sumptuousrobe of honour to the Wazir Dandan, saying, "Thou continues" inoffice. Whereupon Dandan kissed the ground before him and wishedhim long life. Then he bestowed dresses on the Emirs, afterwhich he said to the Chamberlain, "Bring out before me thetribute of Damascus that is with thee." So he was shown thechests of money and rarities and jewels, when he took them andparted them all amongst the troops,--And Shahrazad perceived thedawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eighty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Zau al-Makan ordered the Chamberlain to bring out before him what he hadbrought of the tribute of Damascus; and, when he was shown thechests of money and rarities and jewels, he took them and partedthem all amongst the troops, till nothing was left. And theEmirs kissed the ground before him and wished him long life,saying, "Never saw we a King, who gave the like of these gifts."Then all went away to their tents and when it was morning he gaveorders for marching. So they marched for three days, till, onthe fourth day, they drew near to Baghdad. When they entered thecity, they found it decorated, and Zau al-Makan, the Sultan, wentup to his father's palace and sat down on the throne, whilst theEmirs of the army and the Wazir Dandan and the Chamberlain ofDamascus stood between his hands. Then he bade his privatesecretary write a writ to his brother Sharrkan, acquainting himwith all that had passed, from first to last, and he concluded,"As soon as thou hast read this letter, make ready thine affairand join us with thine army, that we may turn to Holy War uponthe Infidels and take man bote for our father and wipe out thestain upon our honour." Then he folded the letter and sealed itwith his seal ring and said to the Minister Dandan, "None shallcarry this letter but thou; and it behoveth thee speak my brotherfair and say to him, 'If thou have a mind to thy father'skingdom, it is thine, and thy brother shall be Viceroy for theein Damascus; for to this effect am I instructed by him.'" So theWazir went down from before him and made ready for his march. Then Zau al-Makan bade set apart a magnificent house for theFireman and furnished it with the best of furniture and long isthe tale of that Fireman.[FN#380] Presently Zau al-Makan wentout chasing and hunting and, as he was returning to Baghdad, oneof the Emirs presented him with blood horses and with beauteoushandmaids whose description the tongue evades. One of thedamsels pleased him: so he went in unto her and knew her thatnight, and she conceived by him forthright. After a while, theWazir Dandan returned from his journey, bringing him news of hisbrother Sharrkan and that he was then on his way to him, andsaid, "It were fitting thou go forth to meet him." Zau al- Makanreplied, "I hear and I consent;" and riding forth with hisGrandees a day's journey from Baghdad, he pitched his pavilionsthere awaiting his brother. Next morning appeared King Sharrkanamid the army of Syria, a horseman of might, a lion fierce infight, a prow and doughty knight. As the squadrons drew nigh andthe dust clouds came hard by and the troops rode up with bannerson high, Zau al-Makan and those with him pushed forward to meetSharrkan and his men; and when Zau al-Makan saw his brother, hedesired to dismount, but Sharrkan conjured him not to do on thiswise, and himself footed it, and walked a few paces towardshim.[FN#381] As soon as he reached Zau al-Makan, the new Sultanthrew himself upon him, and Sharrkan embraced him and wept withgreat weeping and the twain condoled with each other. Then theymounted and rode onward, they and their troops, till they reachedBaghdad, where they alighted and went up to the royal palace andthere they passed that night, and when next morning came, Zau al-Makan went forth and bade summon the troops from all parts, andproclaimed a Holy War and a Razzia.[FN#382] They then awaited thecoming of the levies from each quarter of the kingdom, and everyone who came they entreated with honour and promised him allmanner of good; till in so doing a full month had sped, and thefighting men flocked to them in a continuous body. Then Sharrkansaid to Zau al-Makan, "O my brother, tell me thy history." So hetold him all that had befallen him from first to last, includingthe benevolent dealing of the Fireman with him. Asked Sharrkan,'Hast thou requited his kindness?"; and he answered, "O mybrother! I have not rewarded him as yet, but Inshallah! I willrecompense him whenas I return from this raid"--And Shahrazadperceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eighty-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sharrkanasked his brother Zau al-Makan, "Hast thou requited the Firemanfor his kindness?"; and he answered, "O my brother, I have notrewarded him as yet, but Inshallah! I will recompense him whenasI return from this raid and find time so to do." TherewithSharrkan was certified that his sister, Nuzhat al-Zaman, had toldhim the whole truth; but he concealed what had passed betweenthem and offered his salutation to her by her husband theChamberlain. She sent him back her greeting, calling downblessings on him and enquiring after her daughter Kuzia-Fakan, towhich he replied that the maiden was well and in the best ofhealth and safety. Where upon she praised Almighty Allah andgave him thanks. Then Sharrkan went to his brother to takecounsel with him for departure; and Zau al-Makan said, "O mybrother, as soon as the army is complete and the Arabs have comein from all parts, we will march forth." So he bade make readythe commissariat and prepare munitions of war and went in to hiswife, who was now five months gone with child; and he put underher astrologers and mathematicians, to whom he appointed stipendsand allowances. Then he set out three months after the arrivalof the army of Syria, and as soon as the Arabs were come in andthe troops were assembled from all directions; and, as he faredforth, he was followed by the warriors and the united host. Nowthe name of the General of the Daylam army was Rustam and that ofthe General of the army of the Turks[FN#383] Bahram. And Zau al-Makan marched in mid host and on his right was his brotherSharrkan, and on his left the Chamberlain his brother-in-law. Sothe squadrons broke up and pushed forward and the battalions andcompanies filed past in battle array, till the whole army was inmotion. They ceased not to fare on for the space of a month, andeach body dismounted at its own ground and there rested everyweek three days (for the host was great); and they advanced inthis order till they came to the country of the Greeks. Then thepeople of the villages and hamlets and the poorer sort tookfright at them and fled to Constantinople. But when King Afridunheard the tidings he arose and betook himself to Zat al-Dawahi,the same who had contrived the stratagem, and had travelled toBaghdad and had slain King Omar bin Al-Nu'uman; and who aftercarrying off her slaves and Queen Sophia, had returned with themall to her native land. Now when she had been restored to herson, the King of Greece, and felt herself safe, she said to KingHardub, "Cool thine eyes; for I have avenged by blood the shameof thy daughter Abrizah, and have killed Omar bin al-Nu'uman andhave brought back Sophia. So now let us go to the King ofConstantinople and carry to him his daughter and acquaint himwith what hath happened, that all of us be on guard and prepareour forces; and I will fare with thee to King Afridun, Lord of